


Banished

by houseofaffliction



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Banishment, FrostIron - Freeform, Husbands, M/M, Odin really sucks, Odin's A+ Parenting, Sad, but I really changed it so much that it doesn't really qualify anymore, characters are ooc on purpose, death of a child, non-canonical use of Loki's magic, not a satisfying ending, sort of fills a prompt, the universe Loki is in is supposed to be the movie universe, you'll understand what I mean if you read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-28 17:39:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2741261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houseofaffliction/pseuds/houseofaffliction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki is in the wrong universe. This Tony Stark does not love him. This Tony Stark has no idea what they've lost or what Loki's gone through to get back to him. This is not his Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Banished

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: brief mention of death of a child. Not a main character.

He’s been caged in the glass box for nearly three days when he finally speaks.

 

“I want to see Tony Stark.” His words are slow and measured, but his voice cracks from disuse. The humans observing him glance at each other nervously and jot things down hurriedly on their notebooks. None of them move to get what he’s asked for, though.

 

The thought enrages him, and he leaps from where’s he’s seated and roars, “I WANT TO SEE TONY STARK.”

 

This time, the humans skitter away from the cage. Two of them separate from the group and walk hurriedly to the exit. With any luck, they’re leaving to grant him his only request.

 

Slowly, he sits down in the same position as he was in before his outburst. His head tips back against the glass of its own volition; he’s so tired.

 

Time passes slowly, like molasses. He figures it’s been a good three hours by the time someone actually shows up.

 

“Brother.”

 

Of course it is Thor.

 

“I did not ask for you.” He doesn’t even bother to open his eyes.

 

“The Man of Iron is on his way here, as well as the rest of the team,” Thor informs him. “May I ask why you requested to see him?”

 

“No,” Loki says shortly. “No, you would not understand.” He opens his eyes finally and sees his brother looking at him, concerned. Thor shifts uneasily as he peers around the cage.

 

“Brother – “ Thor begins.

 

“Don’t.” He’s not in the mood for this right now. He needs to know if he’s in the right place. He needs to know if this is the right on.

 

Thor doesn’t seem to care that he isn’t in the right mood. Instead, he says simply, “You’ve cut your hair.”

 

Loki’s heart sinks in his chest, and he feels like he might be sick. That sentence alone proves that he’s not in the right place, but he can’t quash the tiny feeling of hope in his chest. He can’t be sure yet; he can’t be sure until he sees him.

 

“Alright, horns,” a familiar voice drawls from behind Thor, “what’s all this about?”

 

Loki closes his eyes a moment, a small smile ticking up the corners of his mouth. The other man’s voice is a balm to his battered soul. He stands slowly and walks to the other end of the cage.  

 

“Tony,” he says simply.

 

The man in question merely raises his eyebrows in acknowledgment. Rogers, standing next to Stark, frowns at the familiarity in Loki’s voice. The two assassins and the scientist say nothing, and their faces betray no emotion.

 

Loki swallows convulsively, and the feeling of nausea rises. “You don’t know who I am.”

 

“Oh, I know you all right,” Tony counters, “I know you’re a psychopath, a killer,” he paces around the cage, ignoring Loki’s silent protest, “and I know that you deserve to die.”

 

Loki flinches at the hatred in Tony’s voice. That’s it, then. He’s definitely not in the right one.

 

“You are not him.” His throat feels dry, and the words come out as more of a croak than anything. His eyes close, and helplessness rolls over him. “You’re not him.” He shudders, tries to take a step forward, and falls to one knee. One of his hands braces him against the ground, and he has to swallow back quickly rising bile.

 

“Brother?” Thor’s sounds more concerned than before, a mighty feat, even for him.

 

“Do not call me that,” Loki snarls, not meeting his eyes. “I’m not your brother.”

 

The assassins glance quickly at each other, a million conversations contained in a simple gaze. He misses that.

 

“Loki,” Thor says, hurt, “no matter our differing lineage, you will _always_ be my brother.”

 

Loki laughs bitterly and stands. “No, you imbecile, you don’t understand. _You_ are not my brother because I am not the Loki you were raised with. _I am still in the wrong universe!_ ” His voice rises steadily enough that he's yelling by the end.

 

The scientist steps forward, any caution gone. His eyes are alight with intrigue. “What do you mean 'still'?”

 

Tony steps next to him, “And what do you mean 'the wrong universe'?”

 

“The All-Father did not approve of my choice in husband,” he says slowly. “So he banished me from his realm, an “eternal punishment” is what he called it. I’ve been searching for _so long_ , but I’ve found nothing! No universe is the right one!” He’s shaking. He’s angry and exhausted and he just wants this to be over with, he just wants to be _home_.

 

“Nice try, horns,” Tony snaps, “but for all we know, you’re lying out your ass so that we’ll let you go.”

 

“He’s not lying,” Barton speaks up. All eyes swivel to him, but he stares intently at Loki. “That’s not the Loki that held me captive. And I can make him prove it, too.”

 

“He’s a magician,” Barton says simply. “Loki did something when we were with him to get his point across all of us. He – he projected himself into our minds to show us what he wanted.” Barton’s eyes bore into him, “I’d bet you can do that, too.”

 

Loki nods warily, this isn’t the first time this has been requested of him. “You’ll have to let me out of here. I need direct access.”

 

“Like hell!” Stark exclaims.

 

“Cool it, Iron Man,” Rogers says calmly. “We’ll need your word that you won’t try anything.”

 

“You have it,” Loki vows.

 

“Director?” Rogers calls up at one of the many cameras. There’s a crackle from unseen speakers and then Fury’s voice booms from the ceiling.

 

“You’d better be right about this, Captain, or so help me – “

 

“I’m right, sir. Please unlock the cage.”

 

The glass between Loki and the others hisses and separates down the middle, opening smoothly.

 

“This may not be pleasant,” Loki says, eyes catching Tony’s.

 

“We’ll deal with it just fine,” Rogers promises. “Now how does this work? Do we need to be holding hands or something?”

 

“No, nothing so juvenile. Just focus your minds on me,” Loki instructs. He closes his eyes as they do so and breathes in deeply. This won’t be pleasant for him, either.

 

There’s a heartbeat of absolute stillness, and then Loki catches their consciousnesses and pulls them inside of his own.

 

_Warm hands and a broad smile greet him. Strong arms. Wild brown hair. A voice calls “I love you!” before he leaves. The familiar clap of the Captain’s hand on his shoulder. Natasha is wary around him, but they manage pretty well in silence. Barton teaches him how to shoot, and he, in return, helps him build a mind palace. Laughter and happiness that he hadn’t felt ever before. He wonders vaguely how he’d ever hated humans, how he had ever misunderstood them. Brown eyes twinkle when he smiles, and the corners of his eyes wrinkle attractively. The weight of a ring on his finger. Quiet passion. A little cry in the middle of the night and he’s rolling out of bed and padding across the room to soothe the crying child laying in the next room. Arms wrap around his waist, and a kiss is pressed to his shoulder. The child grows, smiles and laughs and calls “Daddy!” when he comes home. Oh, how he loves them._

 

 

_Everything is going so well that he can’t imagine how he lived before._

 

 

_Of course, that is when everything goes wrong. He feels the brunt of the All-Father’s anger and disgust. The child is killed in front of his eyes, deemed an abomination. He is thrown away from those strong arms and that broad smile as if he is but a doll. He falls through time and space and when he finally stops falling, the Tony that greets him is not the same Tony that he left. The Tony that greets him has never before heard his name._

 

 

_He fights._

 

 

_He fights his way through time and space, clawing his way up the same path that he fell down. With every new universe, he loses more and more hope of ever finding his home again. He spends days screaming for the pain of it because even if he does find home, it will never be the same again. No pitter-patter of footsteps in the morning, no little hands to grasp and pull, no little voice to ask softly for “Just one more book, Daddy?” He is dead inside, he is sure of it._

 

 

_He wakes up to this universe, trapped inside of a glass box. People mill around, studying him, taking notes and he thinks for just a moment that maybe he has made it at last. He waits patiently for three days, but Tony never comes. Finally, he breaks._

 

 

_As it happens, this is not the right universe either._

 

 

It stops as suddenly as it started and Loki is left gasping for air. His eyes sting and he stumbles slightly.

 

“I told you,” Barton says. “Not lying.”

 

Loki can’t bear to look at them.

 

“How do you get back?” That familiar voice is rough and horrified.

 

“I do not know,” Loki says. “I only know how to get to the next universe, and maybe, maybe that will be the one.”

 

“How?” Tony repeats.

 

“Like this.” Loki looks up at them, taking in a final glimpse of Tony, his shoulders, his eyes. And then he gathers as much energy as he can, and he projects himself away from this universe and toward the next.

 

Maybe the next universe will be the right one.


End file.
